Page 9 of Bright Soul

Her wants, needs, goals, dreams. My stone heart resonated for Cress, and she was mine. My purpose, my future.The reason I craved the warmth and illogicality of emotion within me once more.

I completed one last, wider pass overhead to check for threats before coming in for a landing on the sidewalk nearby. At the last second, I checked my momentum to set down my obsidian body without cratering the cement underfoot. I only remained a gargoyle for the authority it gave me…if the librarians within this space would give me jurisdiction as its new protector.

“Door’s open,” Roe said, holding back what looked to be a solid pane of glass for everyone else to pass through.

“The defenses here are insufficient,” I ground out. “How are we to hold control of a house of glass?”

Cress was the one who answered. “Easy. Everything of value is down below.”

“I don’t like the idea of enemies three layers above our heads,” I replied.

She went ahead of me into the library’s inside foyer, head bent over her handbook. It replied in a squeaky, “You got it, toots! Look for hostiles quietly!”

“Quietly,” she hissed back.

“Yup!” It flapped off to fly around the first floor. I stood next to Cress and watched it go with a low, rumbling chuckle.

In my stone form, I towered over her, taller in stature than any human man and much broader even with my wings folded as tight as they would go to my back. I carried a new addition, too, a shield made of tempered crystal. It was a gift from Prince Orthus and was as large as my torso. It’d already come in handy for our last fight, and Cress liked it, finding it delightful with how it rang from the touch of sunlight and glittered like an opal. If I appreciated its function and she enjoyed its form, then it was perfect in my eyes.

I likened it to myself, as I had been sculpted and given new life for her. She enjoyed my form and functions quite a bit in private. My longing was a meager ember compared to normal, yet I yearned to touch her, to take her hand. I flexed my digits as much as they would bend, frustrated with how it felt I was working with an oven mitt rather than graceful fingers to twine with hers.

Later,I thought. In my own head, I was as taciturn as ever.

Would I have Cress to myself soon?Yes.

Would Ben join us?Probably yes.

Did I care?Hmm.

No.He could assist in clearing away her troubles for an evening. And if the dimensional returned… When he returned, Phaeron could join us. His absence was grinding through herthoughts, creating the shadows that danced in her eyes. If he was that important to her, then it was time for my pride to take a step back so I could fulfill my duty as her man.

“…Geo? Are you even listening?” Cress’s voice cut through my thoughts. I refocused my quartz-formed eyes, realizing I’d stalled in place, gazing down at her absentmindedly. And apparently, she’d been trying to talk to me all the while, as her lip was quirked with annoyance and she crossed her arms.

“My apologies,” I said.I was merely daydreaming of you.

“I was saying we should head down a level and see if there are any librarian witches still at work here.”

“A sound plan,” I answered. The library’s inside was familiar, though the stacks were sparser than I was used to.

“Wait,” whispered Áine. She’d declared herself the eighth member of the coven and tagged along with us, along with Jordan Evenstar, as Ben had not been able to dissuade her. A good thing, too, with their abilities.

Áine pointed to the left, where the handbook had stopped and bobbed in place ten feet above the ground. It was analyzing something.

A vine as thick as one of my stone fingers sprang from Áine’s wrist, unspooling at her will as curls of green mist rose from her palms. Someone yelped behind one of the stacks when Áine made a circular motion with her hand and tugged backward. The plant returned to her, towing along a young teen by a loop of vine curled around his ankle. He clawed at the ground in futility. When I checked his aura, sure enough, he bore a weak but fluid halo of shifter magic.

He also hissed when Áine released him from the vine. “You are not a librarian,” I stated.

“Obviously,” the kid muttered, standing and dusting himself off. His gaze flickered between us and he ran a hand through unruly russet-brown hair a shade darker than his skin. “If youguys are looking for a place to stay, keep going. The library’s closed.”

“We are looking for the librarian witches,” I stated.

He shrugged sharply. “And they don’t want to see anybody.”

“We’re here to help,” Cress put in hastily. She patted the sword fastened to her hip. “I’m a librarian too.”

“That might be different. Wait here,” he said. Without waiting for a reply, he moved behind the nearest stack and shifted. His clothes hit the ground with a rustle before he dashed away on the four padded feet of a brown tabby cat.

Cress watched him go, smiling broadly. “Aww, look how cute he is.”She stooped to pick up one of her familiars, Bella, who purred in her hold. The other two had listened to her instruct her handbook and disappeared into the first floor to search for dangers.

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